A Summer Rooftop Supper

Timber Pizza Co. and Love & Carrots host a communal dinner brimming with love for local

By AJ Dronkers, photography courtesy of Anna Darlak Photography

On a steamy Monday evening guests gathered on the rooftop of Timber Pizza Co's founder, Andrew Dana, for a meal celebrating all things summer. Two giant picnic tables were joined together to form a tablescape fantasy of local flowers with beer hops and bistro lights hanging from the trellis above. Just a half block away, I could see the shuttered doors of Timber Pizza Co. on Upshur St. - closed on Mondays. 

Timber Pizza Co. founder Andrew Dana and Chef Daniela Moreira preparing the meal next to the rooftop garden. 

Even though the restaurant remained dark - the Timber team and Chef Dani were busy harvesting from the rooftop garden, planted and maintained by local organic urban gardening experts, Love & Carrots. The rooftop-grown produce was all going toward our Makers Meal. Founded by Amber Breitenberg, Makers Meal brings people together around the table to interact and engage with producers, farmers and local makers. Upon arrival, I was greeted by a familiar face, Kat Hamidi, of New Columbia Distillers. She handed me a Capitoline Vermouth spritz paired with a mini choripan, an Argentinian street sandwich. 

Next up was Chef Dani's twist on humita, a traditional corn dish, that she decided to serve cold like a gazpacho - humorously remarking how her mother would definitely disapprove. 

Humita made with Spring Valley Farm & Orchard corn, crab and crispy onion and paired with ANXO Cider.

A slight breeze picked up as the sun started to set - a welcome relief to me and my sweaty dinner mates. I loved the communal aspect of the seating and how the meal was served. As I swiveled between my cider and wine, I got to know the other guests and found that we all had a common connection in our passion for local food and drink. The evening capped off with a Dolcezza Gelato blueberry sundae. As I made my way to my Lyft home, Amber handed me a bag of goodies, which included a lovely Thai basil plant from the Love & Carrots growers.

Build your own shrimp tacos with corn, peanuts, and cabbage paired with RdV Vineyards.

Edible Afield: Roanoke

Words by Thomas Martin, photography by Jennifer Chase

Doorman at Hotel Roanoke

The Hotel Roanoke has been a cornerstone of the city’s social scene for more than a century, owing in part to its stellar affiliated restaurant, The Regency Room. Chef Stephen DeMarco delivers Southern cuisine with a French twist and an emphasis on local and seasonal. With graceful outdoor space, plush rooms and spa services that can be delivered in-room, the hotel itself is the epitome of old-time splendor. hotelroanoke.com

Bone marrow at Chateau Morrisette

Chateau Morrisette’s winemaking legacy spans back three generations. The on-site restaurant ensures that your wine will be expertly paired with dishes such as this bone marrow with benne seed za’atar, pickled shallot and parsley, and grilled flatbread. And the estate is dog-friendly, too! thedogs.com

Woman overlooking Appalachian Trail

The Appalachian Trail, the longest hiking-only trail in the world, is just a stone’s throw away from the District—but it is even closer to Roanoke, the largest city on the entire trail. Feeling adventurous? Stop at McAfee Knob, the most-photographed spot along the Appalachian Trail, for a breathtaking photo op on a rocky outcropping overlooking Virginia’s Blue Ridge. virginia.org/appalachiantrail/

Grain sack dresses at O. Winston Link Museum

The O. Winston Link Museum’s collection includes large-format photographs that artist-photographer O. Winston Link took to document the last days of the steam-propelled Norfolk and Western Railway and captured the rural towns along the line. Also on display are Native American artifacts, a letter signed by Thomas Jefferson and various military medals. Local history is featured, including records from the city’s eminent families, as well as a collection of dresses fashioned from the repurposed cotton sacks used to package grain. These dresses were quite popular during the Great Depression, and the trend continued well into the 1940s. roanokehistory.org

Mosaic outside Roanoke City Market

Undoubtedly one of the best perks of traveling to Roanoke for a locavore is a stop at the Historic Roanoke City Market. The market serves as a microcosm of the regional foodscape, including local produce and fresh meats, as well as artwork and jewelry made by local craftsmen. It’s open daily year-round. downtownroanoke.org

Bless Your Heart biscuit from the Scratch Biscuit Company, made with fried green tomato, bacon and chipotle

Nothing says “I’m in the South” quite like a biscuit. Scratch Biscuit Company dishes up more than 20 unique styles of biscuits, including the Jezebel Biscuit, the Cowboy Crippler and—in honor of the classic Southern diss—the Bless Your Heart biscuit. Breakfast and lunch on weekdays and Saturdays, and enjoy the brunch menu on Sundays. scratchbiscuit.com

Wines from Chateau Morrisette

Chateau Morrisette produces reds, whites, dessert wines and fruit wines with what experts say is distinctly Virginian character. Be sure to visit the tasting room, and don’t miss the chance to tour the winery’s cellar and get up close and personal with the winemaking process.

The historic Grandin Theatre

The historic Grandin Theatre opened as a cinema in 1932 and showed its first movie, Arrowsmith. Financial troubles led the theater to close intermittently throughout the next 80 years, but ever since major renovations in 2002 the theater has played a significant role in Roanoke’s arts scene. The theater now plays new releases as well as classics from earlier years. grandintheatre.com

Salvaged stained glass at Black Dog Salvage in Roanoke

Home of the television show “Salvage Dawgs,” Black Dog Salvage offers a variety of home décor, upcycled furniture and unique salvaged gifts. New works by local artisans help keep the inventory of Black Dog’s two Roanoke warehouses fresh and inspired. From custom woodworking to clawfoot tubs, Black Dog Salvage is likely to have exactly what you were looking for, even if you didn’t know you were looking for it. blackdogsalvage.com

Vegetable salad at farm-to-table restaurant Local Roots

At Local Roots, the name says it all: organic, locally-sourced ingredients help this farm-to-table restaurant ensure that its menus reflect both the season and the geography of its location, giving all its dishes a Southwestern Virginia flair. This vegetable salad uses local greens as well as cheese from Curtin’s Dairy, a goat farm in nearby Franklin County.

Who is Ferd Hoefner?

Local Food Champion Wins 2018 James Beard Leadership Award

Interview by Reana Kovalcik, photography by Space Division Photography

Ferd hoefner in his takoma park garden.

With consumer demand for organic, locally grown, pasture-raised, good-feeling, good-for-you food at an all-time high, why is it that most Americans still understand so little about the policy aspect of our food system? Perhaps one reason is that policy heavy-hitters like Senior Strategic Advisor for the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) Ferd Hoefner eschew attention, craving a good key-lime pie more than they’re likely to ever crave the limelight.

Thrust into the world of celebrity chefs and “foodies” following his recent receipt of a James Beard Leadership Award, Ferd Hoefner is one reluctant food and farm hero whose name everyone should know.

For roughly 40 years, Ferd Hoefner has been at the forefront of the sustainable food and farms movement. Among agricultural policy wonks, Hoefner is a hall-of-famer who can always be counted on to have the answer to questions about the Farm Bill (he’s been working on them since the 1970s) or to explain arcane rules and regulations. DC ag journalists have him on speed dial, as do many senior congressional and administrative staff. Outside expert circles, however, his name is rarely uttered—until now.

You’ve helmed the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) in one way or another for the last 30 years. If you had to give a freshman Member of Congress a quick elevator speech about what NSAC does, what would you say?

NSAC represents farmers who are interested in protecting the land and the legacy of family farms in this country. We do that largely through our member organizations, who work at the local and state level and interface directly with farmers and communities on the ground. NSAC bands them all together at the national level, and from our position here in DC we serve as vehicle through which our members, and all the farmers and other stakeholders they represent, can weigh in on pressing policy issues that affect their lives. 

Why should the average American who isn’t a farmer care about this work?

Family farms are the bedrock that agriculture was established on in this country over a century ago, but consolidation is happening really rapidly. Some folks that favor the rise of the mega-farm will try to tell you that larger-scale farming means more economies of scale, and cheaper, better food—but that’s not true. The consolidation that’s happening isn’t so that corporate agribusinesses can make your food cheaper, it’s to increase economic returns and the ability to control land for the ownership class.

The big thing going on right now in the world of ag policy is that it’s a Farm Bill year. Explain to readers what that is in a nutshell.

The Farm Bill is the primary, but not only, federal legislation related to both farm policy and food policy. It’s particularly important because it’s so big and covers so much—from food stamps to forestry. It’s also important because [its renewal] happens routinely every five or so years, and that means there’s more democratic process and opportunities for the public to weigh in and try to move the legislation in a more progressive direction. The current Farm Bill expires on September 30, 2018, so it’s an incredibly important time to be contacting your Congress members.

So the Farm Bill isn’t just about farmers then?

It’s certainly important for farmers, but not just farmers, no. This bill affects what we eat, how we eat and who has access to that food. It’s incredibly important to every American who eats—so that’s all of us.

Reana KOvalcik and Ferd hoefner spend time with Little Nettie, Ferd's chicken. 

Let’s talk a bit about you. You didn’t grow up on a farm, so how did a boy from Long Island come to find his farming roots in Washington, DC?

Right. I didn’t grow up on a farm and had limited farm experience with agriculture before coming to DC. I had come out of the peace movement and was off to college when the world food crisis was in full swing, so as an academic and an activist I became very involved and interested in that.

In the late 1970s, I was just dabbling in domestic agricultural issues, but then the famous 1979 Tractorcade happened. Farmers came on their tractors to DC to demand more support from Congress, and they ended up staying out on the mall for months! That was enough to get the organization I’d been working for, the Inter-Religious Task Force on U.S. Food Policy, to switch to more of an emphasis on domestic policy and I was asked to be part of that effort. I was learning by doing because I was immediately thrown in. It was trial by fire, and 40 years later I’m still at it. 

DC has changed a lot in the 40 years that you’ve been working here. In fact, the old bakery where you used to work, Heller’s, is now a very posh restaurant and café—Ellē. How do you perceive the cultural shifts around food that the city has undergone?

When I came to DC, I was interning on Capitol Hill, but I also needed to pay the rent. So I started working at Heller’s Bakery on Mt. Pleasant Street. I’d start very early in the morning, around 4:30am, help bring the donuts and things out from the back bakery, clean the floors, etc. I’d stay through the opening rush, until around 8am, because when it opened there were always folks waiting in line at the door. Then I’d dust the flour off my clothes and head for Capitol Hill!

I haven’t seen the space since it became Ellē, but it’s cool that something is there that retains some of the flavor. What I miss in this city is the real bakeries, though. Heller’s was one of the last ones in DC. There are the various chains and there are newer places that just sell muffins and scones and things, but there aren’t really full-service bakeries around anymore.

OK, let’s come back to the present. You’ve been leading this work for over 40 years, you just won a James Beard Leadership Award, why don’t most people know who you are?

One of the not-so-hidden secrets of being an effective advocate is making sure that the attention focuses on the elected officials, who you’re hopefully convincing to champion your causes. We want the attention on those champions and on the programs themselves, that’s better for the movement. 

Maybe the more pertinent question, then, is: Everybody eats, so why do so few people know anything about “food policy”?

People are interested; it’s just a complex system. The policy levers that affect it are complicated and arcane, so it takes a certain amount of hardcore interest. It’s one of the difficult things about the advocacy job, trying to communicate why a particular policy or proposal is something the general public should care about.

There are a few programs that should very understandable to folks who care about their food but aren’t wonks like me, though—like the Farmers Market and Local Food Promotion Program (FMLFPP). That’s one that NSAC helped to develop and shepherds to this day. The name of the program is a bit of an obstacle, but the benefits are pretty clear and there’s no shortage of folks interested.

Since this is for Edible DC, let me ask a question about eating. What was your favorite dish growing up?  

Growing up, if you asked my family they’d cite one of two things: lentil soup, which I’m not sure my siblings appreciated, or we also had a tradition growing up that on your birthday you could make a request for dinner. I usually requested Rouladen, a cut of beef that’s prepared by rolling it around vegetables and pickles. It’s a German specialty. 

Last thing: I can’t let you leave without asking about the infamous “Hoefner Food Pyramid.”

Hah! Well, I didn’t brand that, just to be clear. I just have a fondness for beer, bourbon and potatoes is all. Beer and bourbon are part of any complete diet, firstly. I also have a fondness for potatoes, despite the fact that potatoes are routinely trashed by nutritionists and foodies. I like ’em, and that’s all I have to say.

Reana Kovalcik is the associate director for communications and development with the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, as well as a member of the Slow Food USA National Policy Committee and vice chair of the Slow Food DC board. Despite being a city girl her whole life, Reana has always been interested in good food, sustainable agriculture and protecting the natural environment.

Putting the "Wine" in Brandywine

 The Legacy Wine Trail launches in nearby Maryland

Words and photos by Thomas Martin

If you are driving on the backroads of Brandywine in Prince George’s County, Maryland, you might miss them—four wineries are tucked away within an eight-mile radius. This spring, the Maryland Wineries Association launched the Legacy Wine Trail to celebrate this nexus of viticulture. Included on the trail are Janemark Winery & Vineyard, Gemeny Winery and Vineyards, Romano Vineyard & Winery and Robin Hill Farm and Vineyards. All four stops along the trail are within a forty-five-minute drive from the capital, and each offers a unique story and some very nice wines.

Jo-Ann and Joseph Romano did not plan to become trailblazers when they began planting grape vines on their former corn and soybean farm in 2007. Four years after the first planting, Romano would be the first winery to open in Prince George’s County. The couple attribute their interest in growing grapes to empty nest syndrome. As their children left for college, their new vineyard, along with a cluster of beehives helped Jo-Ann and Joseph occupy their new child-free time together. The Romanos grow five varietals of grape—Barbera, Cayuga, Chambourcin, Traminette and Vidal—and produce nine different wines.

Just three years after the Romanos opened their winery, Susan and Bob White, along with many relatives, began planting their first rows of grapes at Robin Hill Farms and Vineyards. In 1955, Susan’s parents purchased the farm property which abuts the Patuxent River. The farm housed hogs and yielded tobacco in its early years, and remnants of that history are still visible today. Robin Hill’s winery building is a converted tobacco barn, and their Pi’Goat Blanc rosé (pronounced with a French accent, “pe-ZHO”) is a nod to the four-legged inhabitants of the farm, both the former pigs and the goats they currently raise. The Pi’Goat Blanc received a silver medal at the Maryland Comptroller’s Cup Competition, while the Home Sweet Home wine received both Best in Show and a gold medal.

Awards aside, there is a close-knit culture that makes the Legacy Wine Trail distinct. All the vineyards are relatively young. These winemakers have distilled a perfectly balanced bond, one of shared soil, intertwined roots, and—of course—a deeply abiding love for wine.

“You forge a lot of wonderful relationships in this community of wine.” Jo-Ann Romano

Edible DC Exclusive: Dino's Grotto Dinner-for-Two Special

Use the Greenease App and Discover Special Dining Values

By Thomas Martin, EdibleDC Contributor

PhotoS by AJ Dronkers

Greenease (available on both the App Store and Google Play) is a new app that aims to make eating "green" (meaning local, sustainable, and diet-specific) easier not just for consumers, but for farmers and chefs as well. EdibleDC is partnering with Greenease to support the use of local food sources in the DC region, which benefits both local farmers by increasing demand as well as customers by encouraging fresher dining options. 

In the summer of 2018, Greenease is launching the pilot of the Greenease Business platform where chefs can log in to update their farms, search for farm-fresh food, and push out specials on the app. Farms can soon log in to verify who's buying from them and add their inventory to the database.

The app is also useful for those seeking restaurants with diet-specific options, such as vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free menu items. Greenease will also tell users whether restaurants use sustainable seafood, grass-fed beef, organic ingredients, and free-range and drug-free meats in their menus. Greenease is currently up and running in the District as well as in more than twenty other cities, such as New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles.

For DC restaurant-goers, Edible DC has partnered with Greenease to offer a dinner-for-two deal at Dino's Grotto in Shaw. For just $80, participants will receive:

• 2 negroni (or other signature cocktail), or two glasses of house wine (1/2 Quartin), or two draft beers
• 2 antipasti selections
• 1 shared pasta selection
• 1 shared entree
• 1 shared dessert
• 2 strawberrry-cellos
• tax & gratuity included

To access this exclusive offer, simply download the Greenease app and select the "Dino's Grotto Four-Course Dinner for Two" deal. Scroll down to view what's included in the deal, then hit "Purchase" to access it for yourself and a special someone.

Here are some of the delicious menu items that are available with our deal! The full dinner menu for Dino's Grotto can be found here.

Negroni and antipasto with all local ingredients @ Dino's Grotto. 

Enjoy supporting local with this dinner deal for two. And for more information on Greenease, go to www.greenease.co

Put Some Crimson in Your Summer with Tröegs' New IPA

By Thomas Martin, EdibleDC Contributor. Photos and styling by AJ Dronkers, EdibleDC.

Tröegs' Crimson Pistil IPA pairs well with summer fare such as corn on the cob and freshly made tacos. 

If the recent wave of heat has you beat, don't fret! Tröegs Independent Brewing has crafted an IPA perfect for easing your summer woes. The Crimson Pistil IPA is brewed with hibiscus flowers, lending it a tangy berry flavor with notes of passionfruit and grapefruit zest. 

The ale was designed specifically to cater to a summertime flavor palate. By utilizing Tröegs' lovely "food notes", we created a menu for an outdoor meal that complements, contrasts, and enhances the Crimson Pistil's distinct flavors. 

How about a watermelon, feta and cilantro salad alongside a Crimson Pistil. #HopCycle #PairsWellWithNow

509 Likes, 9 Comments - Tröegs Independent Brewing (@troegsbeer) on Instagram: "How about a watermelon, feta and cilantro salad alongside a Crimson Pistil. #HopCycle..."

Our team had a great time preparing the meal, which was simple to make, but incredibly rewarding to devour. The centerpiece of the meal were jerk chicken tacos made from tender chicken thighs with jerk seasoning. The chicken's peppery flavor complemented the mildly sweet tang of the IPA. 

Jerk chicken with soft corn tortillas.

For side dishes, we paired the ale with grilled ears of corn topped with feta and harissa, as well as a watermelon-mango-feta fruit salad. The watermelon was a perfect foil to this IPA, much like the jerk chicken, but the corn and the corn tortillas were chosen for their contrasting flavors. 

The meal made for a delightful afternoon spread bursting with vibrant colors and powerful flavors. Be sure to make Tröegs' Crimson Pistil Hibiscus IPA the centerpiece of your next summer cookout. Consider the 4th of July! Tröegs has the red covered—use your creative side to craft something white and blue for a truly patriotic feast!